The Assyrian Democratic Organization
Stockholm – AINA — The Archbishop of the Syriac Orthodox Church in Scandinavia, His eminence Gallo Shabo, condemned the recent killings of Assyrians in Mosul and renewed his call for the establishment of an administrative unit for the non-Muslim Iraqi minorities in the Nineveh Plain, east of Mosul. The bishop lashed out against attempts by some groups to portray the establishment of the Nineveh Plain administrative unit as a “Christian ghetto.”
“All of Iraq’s religious and ethnic groups are represented in the Nineveh Plain, not just Christians. How is it possible for such a place to become a ghetto? The groups who are trying to stop the Nineveh Plain administrative unit from becoming reality should note that Christians are practically cleansed from Basra, Baghdad and now Mosul. The Nineveh Plain is the last hope for Christianity in Iraq.”
Several Assyrian bishops from the Syriac Orthodox Church, Chaldean Church and Church of the East have voiced calls for the establishment of an administrative unit on the Nineveh Plain (AINA 8-28-2008), in accordance with article 125 of the Iraqi constitution, in order to guarantee protection for the dwindling Assyrian Christian community in Iraq.
Archbishop Gallo Shabo, called on the Iraqi government to implement its own order from June 2006 of establishing a local police force for the Nineveh Plain. “A local legitimate police force is crucial for the protection of the minorities in the Nineveh Plain. Why is the police force not set up yet and what is stopping it? The Iraqi government must act quickly before the violence reaches the Nineveh Plain.”
In his concluding remarks, he touched upon the removal of the quota seats of the minorities in Iraqs provincial councils. “Prime minister Nuri Al Maliki and President Jalal Talabani promised the world they will reinstate the quota seats but time is passing by and nothing is happening.”
